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also-ran

noun

Etymology

From the world of horse race betting, where lists of winners would be published with non-paying positions printed in a block under the heading “Also Ran”.

Definitions

  1. A person or animal who competed in a race, or other competition, but did not win.

  2. A loser

    A loser; a person or thing soon to be forgotten.

    • It also turned Palmer from an also-ran into a challenger.
    • I have 37 actors and actresses I would supply for television and radio work and then I have maybe 150 to 200 also-rans who get extra work and television commercials.
    • […]some of Mr. Scorsese's accomplishments have been so stunning—that it's impossible to view "The Last Waltz" as anything but an also-ran.

The neighborhood

Vish — recursive loop

No curated loop yet for also-ran. Loops are being traced one word at a time while the ingestion pipeline matures.

sense glosses and etymology drawn from English Wiktionary · source · CC-BY-SA